The basic structure of a common absorbent article such as a sanitary napkin consists of a liquid-permeable surface material, a liquid-impermeable backing material and an absorbent located therebetween. Such an absorbent article has formed into a substantially rectangle shape. It is intensely required that such an absorbent article has an excellent absorption performance and a high leakproof effect showing no leak in any case. It is furthermore required that a liquid absorbed by the absorbent would never turn back and the absorbent article gives no unpleasant feel (for example, stickiness, physical disorder) at use.
Accordingly, attempts have been made to improve the absorption performance and liquid-retentive properties of absorbents used in absorbent articles such as sanitary napkin by, for example, incorporating a high absorbing polymer, providing an elastic material so as to suppress deformation or using a surface material capable of improving liquid-permeability into the absorbent or suppressing the turn back of a liquid. However none of these attempts has achieved satisfactory results so far. This is proved by the fact that most of consumers' complaints concentrate upon leak, stickiness and unpleasant feel.
Recently, it has proposed to use as a surface material a nonwoven fabric comprising a large amount of hydrophobic fiber or a hydrophobic film provided with openings. Thus absorbent articles including sanitary napkins wherein these surface materials are used have been marketed. Although the hydrophobic materials used in these products suppress wetness and stickiness, they are poor in absorptivity and thus cause leakage. When large openings are provided in order to improve the absorptivity, the absorbed liquid is liable to turn back, which causes stickiness. Thus these products seemingly fail to satisfy both of these requirements contrary to each other.